oa Eroticism and Epistemology in the Apocryphal Acts of John

The Acts of John contains two autobiographical speeches of the apostle in which he narrates his call as Jesus’ disciple. The first account is found in the context of a gospel narrative (cc. 88-105), which concentrates on the apostle’s exclusive experiences about his Master. Jesus appears in multiple forms, a phenomenon that has been labelled ‘polymorphy’ by previous scholarship. This article proposes that the epistemology of the text originates from Plato’s Symposium, especially the famous Diotima-speech. The prayer of John (cc. 113-114) gives another version of his commission, and reflects ascetic views. It will be suggested that the epistemology of both passages is related to the emergence of Neo-Platonism and they were added to the Acts of John (originating from Asia Minor) in Alexandria at the end of the AD second century.